Lily and Shad are into it again. But this time, Lily and her friends are fed up with his teasing and decide to give Shad a taste of his own medicine. When Lily and her friends play the ultimate prank on Shad, guess who's left to take the fall? Lily. Lily and Shad get assigned a project that they must complete TOGETHER after school. Will this finally bring an end to the infamous feud between Lily and Shad? Or is it the beginning of something much worse? See what happens when Lily makes an unpleasant discovery and has to decide what's important---becoming someone she can like or someone God can like.
Nancy Rue is the author of over 100 books for adults and teens, including the Christy Award-winning The Reluctant Prophet, Unexpected Dismounts and Healing Waters (with Steve Arterburn), which was the 2009 Women of Faith Novel of the Year. She travels extensively—at times on the back of a Harley—speaking to and teaching groups of women of all ages. Nancy lives on a lake in Tennessee with her Harley-ridin’ husband, Jim, and their two yellow Labs (without whom writing would be difficult).
Now I'm all for diplomacy and such, but I've got to be bluntly honest.
No matter how many times I read this book, all I see is that the teachers are merely telling Lily to be a doormat with no boundaries and put up constant harassment from the boys especially Shad "what's his name".
Another problem with dismissing the problem is that kids need to know it's all right to separate themselves from someone who has been deliberately aggressive or mean, and that refusing to interact with someone is a valid response to being hurt.
Also that "if he teases you, he must like you" is nothing but an excuse for enabling bullying and questionable behavior further on. All it does is teach children that being mean or aggressive towards another person is an acceptable way to show affection. And put young girls/women in the position of thinking that it's fine to de disrespected. No, just no. It's NOT cute and it's not acceptable. Period.
Lily and the Creep is a humorous fiction book for ages 8-12. This definitely is a book with a message to it, and Lily's bound and determined to learn it the most difficult way possible. It's a Christian message, but the story isn't condescending or preachy.
I got this book for a young friend who just turned 12-years-old. She feels like she's picked on a lot at school, though I've seen that sometimes she's the one who starts the trouble. I thought this book might help.
I liked the characters, and it kept me (an adult) reading straight through to the end because I wanted to find out how she got out of all her scraps. My young friend also enjoyed it. By the end, Lily's learned about God-esteem (rather than self-esteem) and has started to relate better to Shad even if they aren't exactly friends.
Overall, I'd recommend this well-written book to Christian kids, especially those who feel like they're teased a lot at school.
Lily and her friends try to get back at Shad and his friends for being insensitive jerks, but Lily gets sent to the office and was total blame for Reni's idea. Shad pushes her down in P.E. so they both ending up getting detention. She loses her friends again, and has to put up a bulletin board with Shad. In the end, her friends turn themselves in and she regains her friend. It takes faith in God to stay strong while the going gets tough.